Sunday, 1 January 2012

Introduction

Once again, it is the Nexus time of the year. This time, Google has
left the Gingerbread cookies and, together with Samsung, has brought to
us the Galaxy Nexus to deliver the Ice Cream Sandwich. And while a cold
dessert is totally out of place this holiday season, the latest release
of Android is more relevant than ever.
The Galaxy Nexus packs an impressive spec sheet, but it is (yet
again) the OS which is the device’s main highlight. After all, Android
4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is widely expected to put an end to the
fragmentation, which currently plagues Google’s mobile platform.Samsung Galaxy Nexus official photos
Unlike its Nexus S predecessor, which was essentially a rebranded
Samsung Galaxy S, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a completely different
device from the current flagship of the company, the I9100 Galaxy S II.
The latest Google phone sports a different GPU and chipset, which are,
well, not as powerful as those found inside the Galaxy S II.
Here is a quick look at what the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has to offer, along with its main disadvantages.

Main disadvantages

Camera resolution is not on par with the rest of the high-end dual-core competition

Below average battery life

Lacks a dedicated camera key

No microSD card slot

No mass-storage mode (some files don't show up in MTP mode)

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is yet to be fully compatible with all apps from the Android Market

No FM radio

A quick look at the key features of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will
show you that the smartphone’s hottest hardware feature is its Super
AMOLED screen with HD resolution – a first for a Samsung smartphone. The
display combines amazing contrast ratio and superb viewing angles, with
eye-popping size and resolution – a perfect match for the spanking new
OS on board.
As far as the rest of the hardware is concerned, we heavily suspect
that Samsung has intentionally omitted a couple of Galaxy S II features
such as the microSD card slot and a superior 8MP camera unit. The
superior screen of the Galaxy Nexus, while giving it a touch of
exclusivity hardware-wise, will not be enough to cannibalize the strong
sales, which the I9100 still enjoys.
The latest Google phone will be aimed at the Android purists – the
crowd, which doesn’t like launchers or UI tweaks. And also the crowd
that likes to get the latest OS updates from Google first. In this
aspect, the smartphone is entirely in a league of its own.Samsung Galaxy Nexus in our office
So is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus a proper flagship for the company, or
is it simply an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich flag bearer for Google?
This is what we’re trying to find out in this review.
We are going to continue next with an unboxing of the smartphone, followed by design and build quality inspection.